


The Queen's Jealousy

by DeckofDragons



Category: A Hat in Time (Video Game)
Genre: Abusive Relationship, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Mentions of canonical mass murder, Moonjumper is an enigma, Other, Vanessa is a horrible person, Wrongful Imprisonment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2019-12-02
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:08:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21645019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeckofDragons/pseuds/DeckofDragons
Summary: The Prince is in for a rough time when an innocent interaction gets mistaken for something romantic. Lucky for him, there might just be a way out.
Relationships: Moonjumper & Snatcher (A Hat in Time), Moonjumper & The Prince, The Prince/Queen Vanessa
Kudos: 81





	The Queen's Jealousy

**Author's Note:**

> So, Moonjumper's kinda a thing. There's a fanon thing going around where he's The Prince's body based off how he's dressed making it seem like the devs possibly intended for him to be The Prince before they decided to remove him from the game. So that's where this idea came from.
> 
> Also, I call The Prince 'Lukas' in this fic because I've read a couple fics where he was called 'Lucas' due to that being the name of Snatcher's voice actor. I like the name so I decided to just go with it and spell it with a 'k' instead because I prefer that spelling.

Vanessa was upset again; Lukas was spending too much time focusing on his studies. He was maybe spending more time on them than was strictly necessary ~~because he didn’t want to spend time with her~~ but it was important. It was his passion and since he was going to marry her one day, making him King someday as well, he needed to know this stuff.

That didn’t mean he didn’t love her, of course not. She was the… love of his life. He would make it up to her… one day. For now, he’d just get her another bouquet of flowers and pray it placated her for at _least_ as long as his break from his lessons lasted.

Which was what brought him to the marketplace. A pretty young redhead manned the flower stall, possibly the daughter of the man who normally ran it? It didn’t matter though, she knew what and where all the flowers he requested for his bouquet were and bundled them up just as prettily.

“Thanks,” he said as he handed over payment, adding a whole extra gold as a tip because he was in a good mood. He took a breath to follow it up with a ‘have a nice day’ but paused at the sound of a familiar gasp of dismay. He glanced over in that direction but the crowds had already closed in, concealing whoever it had been. If it was anyone at all. His ears were probably just playing tricks on him, there were lots of sounds all around him after all.

Lukas turned back to the flower stall attendant. “Have a nice day.”

“You too,” she replied as he started to move away.

He dilly-dallied around the marketplace for a while a longer. ~~He didn’t want to go see Vanessa yet; he was stalling~~. It had been a while since he’d last had a chance to come here so he was going to enjoy it for a bit longer before returning to his love. But because he’d already bought the flowers – in hindsight he should’ve brought them right before leaving but he hadn’t been planning on staying long – he couldn’t justify staying for much more than an hour. Thus, he quickly found himself knocking on the door to Vanessa’s manor.

The door servant quickly answered it. He was tense, head bowed, and silent which suggested Vanessa was full on _angry_ now, ready to snap at any servant who dared to even mildly inconvenience her. But… she couldn’t be mad at Lukas, right? He hadn’t seen her since that morning when she’d cried about how little time he was spending with her, saying he didn’t love her anymore so what was the point of even existing anymore? She’d then locked herself up in her room, freeing him to head out to get something to placate her with. So it would _probably_ be fine to approach and apologize and assure her that he _did_ love her and always would. Regardless he was already here and seen by one of her servants meaning he had no choice in the matter.

She was in her room, door wide open, sitting on the cushioned seat at the foot of the bed. Back to the door, the rigidity of her posture made it clear that whatever had angered her was still making her furious. _Not_ a good time to approach. He’d retreat, come back later when it was…

“Luke.” He voice was filled with ice. Too late, she’d heard him come in… somehow.

“Uh… hey Vanessa.” The quiver in his voice made him angry with himself. He sounded like a sniveling _coward_.

“How _could_ you?”

“How could I what?” He hadn’t _done_ anything? Why was she mad him _now_? He’d brought her flowers for fuck’s sake.

“You know what you did.”

“Actually no, I…”

“ _Guards_ ,” she interrupted. “Lock him up.”

Armor clanking, the guards standing watch outside of her room stepped in. Before Lukas could process what was happening, they grabbed him under the arms and started dragging him away.

“Vanessa, wait! You can’t do this! Let me go!”

But his pleas fell on deaf ears, she didn’t even turn to look at him as her guards dragged him away, too strong to be bothered by his struggles.

They brought him to the cellar, to the back. One guard pushed him up against the wall while the other two put shackles around his upper arms. They then stepped back.

Lukas let out an undignified yelp of pain as suddenly all his weight was put on his shoulders; his feet were a good foot or so off the ground. “Wait,” he said as the guards started leaving. “You can’t do this to me! How long are you going to leave me here?”

They didn’t answer and soon he was alone in the dark.

He grunted as he lifted his feet and pressed them flat against the stone wall behind him. If he could just get some weight _off_ the chains holding him up… but it was no use. He gave up after a few minutes.

Vanessa was just having an especially bad fit for some reason. She’d release him soon and would then apologize profusely and then tell him much she loved him and was nothing without him and was trash for hurting him, just like she’d done on the rare occasions she’d slapped or actually hit him with a thrown object. And then she’d go back to being sweet and loving… until he did something else to upset her.

_Hours_ passed. An unnatural cold settled in, chilling him to the bone. The pain in his shoulders built steadily. Every move he made, to shift or in a desperate attempt to find a way to alleviate it, made it worse. It was the most excruciating pain he’d ever felt.

Never again! He was done with Vanessa. This was going too far. He was going to end it as soon as she freed him. … Hopefully that would be soon.

It wasn’t. Time dragged as sleep alluded him. Hunger and thirst set in as the pain in his shoulders peaked, becoming a constant misery that could almost be ignored. At some point, he wet himself, adding shame to his suffering. His hate grew too, rivaled only by exhaustion. The cold seemed to grow as well, unnaturally, though it was possible it just felt like that too him because he body was weakening.

At some point he passed out, hunger, thirst, and sheer exhaustion finally over overpowering the pain and suffering enough to allow him sweet blissful unawareness. He was awoken by the scuffing of feet on the stairs.

He looked up but it was too dark to see and they weren’t here yet. But a person meant salvation… right? His torment was over? … _Right_? He’d do _anything_ for that to be the case.

_Finally,_ a small light came around the corner. A candle flame, held I someone’s hands. Even _that_ was enough to make it feel like daggers in his light deprived eyes.

“I did it, Luke.” It was Vanessa. There was an odd quality to her voice that hadn’t been there before. It sent chills down Lukas’ spine even as her mere presence filled him with rage. “There’s no one to bother us anymore my love. They’re all frozen solid, especially that _wretched_ flower girl and your _whore_ of a teacher. They can’t tempt you away from me anymore, no one can.”

Lukas was finally able to open his eyes and look at her. She looked… different; her clothing tattered, her hair a mess, an odd discomforting glint in her eyes – were they glowing slightly red? Surely not, that was just a trick of the candle light… right? There was something else though that Lukas couldn’t place and made him feel almost nauseous to look upon.

“What did you do?” he asked through gritted teeth, his voice rough and painful from lack of use a and a dry throat. She’d mentioned his teacher and the flower girl – why her though? he’d spoken to her once – meaning she’d killed them? Really? She wasn’t _that_ fucked up, was she?

“While _you’ve_ been away with your studies, I’ve been studying some stuff on my own. Magic to be precise. I froze everything and everyone. I _shattered_ your teacher and the girl you cheated on me with. So, it’s just us now. It’s just you and me now, forever. Aren’t you happy?”

“ _No_! What the hell you, crazy bitch?” It couldn’t be true, could it? She couldn’t have killed _everyone_ … right?

The disconcerting smile on Vanessa’s face vanished, replaced with an even worse frown. “Don’t call me that.”

“I’ll call you whatever the fuck I want, you’re being a crazy bitch!” Lukas would’ve slapped her if he could. True or not, the words she was saying were awful.

Her frown deepened. “Fine. I was going to let you down but since you clearly have not learned your lesson, I’ll leave you down here for a couple more days.” She snapped around and started walking away.

Lukas took in a breath to tell her to stop and come back to let him down, beg for mercy essentially. He bit back on it though. Anyone _other_ than her and he would’ve without hesitation but he’d rather die than beg for mercy from _her_.

Despite that resolve and the anger at her words, his heart sunk at the distant sound of the cellar door thumping shut a short while later. He was once more alone with his suffering and the darkness.

“Friend…” a hollow voice pulled him out a doze that wasn’t quite sleep.

He lifted his head to see nothing but the usual darkness. Was he imagining things now too? Just what he needed to add to his misery, insanity.

“Good, you are awake…”

Lukas jerked back up. “Hello? Can you help me?” Whoever or whatever it was it clearly wasn’t Vanessa so… it _had_ to be here to help him, right?

“I can help you and I will if you agree to help me…” Placing the location of the speaker was impossible. It sounded almost like it might just be in Lukas’ mind.

“W-what do you want me to do?” Under different circumstance Lukas wouldn’t have trusted such a voice in a million years but he was _desperate_. Everything _hurt_ , he was dying of thirst, he needed it to _end_. “I promise whatever it is I’ll do it as soon as I’m able. Just… _please_ let me down, _please_.”

“I need a vessel. Yours will do. Let me have it…”

“What does that mean? And… what are you?”

“You can call me Moonjumper.” That didn’t answer the question. “And by ‘vessel’ I mean a body…”

“ _What_?”

“You are going to die anyway. Within the next couple of days if the witch does not come back to free you. So, let me have your body. In return, I will free your ghost. You will be a shadow but you will be free of your shackles…”

“A… a shadow?”

“A powerful ghost but still a ghost so not alive. Do we have a deal?”

Was Lukas crazy for finding that idea appealing? … Yes, without a doubt, it was death that was essentially being offered to him; death with a side of a mysterious entity taking his corpse. But… the alternative was suffering for longer and waiting for Venessa to come back. If what she’d said was true, assuming he lived long enough for her to return, she was going to keep him here with her indefinitely, just the two of them. Surely _any_ fate was better than that so…

“Deal!”

For several seconds there was nothing, not even a sound from Moonjumper, whatever it might be. But then a strong force seemed to tug on Lukas. A nauseating feeling of _something_ ripping accompanied it. It stopped just as suddenly as it had started it. But with it the pain, hunger, and thirst stopped too. It was _amazing_!

Shaking with relief, he opened his eyes to find he could suddenly see in the dark. Far better than he would’ve liked because he was staring at himself, hanging limp in shackles. It took a bit of the joy of release out of the moment.

Suddenly his body jerked and spasmed, making the chains rattle loudly. Colour drained from its face, fading to grey. Its eyes opened. They were empty, just white, no pupils. “It was a pleasure doing business with you…” the voice came out of it, unchanged other than being a bit louder. Whether that was a blessing since it wasn’t using his voice, or a curse because it was still using _his_ mouth to speak, Lukas couldn’t decide. Before he could respond, it vanished, leaving the chains hanging open and empty.

Lukas shuddered, not from cold though, he barely felt the cold anymore. Maybe giving whatever that thing was his body hadn’t been a good idea. But… he couldn’t find it within himself to care… yet. He might later but for now, he was _free_ and no longer suffering! He couldn’t help but smile for that reason alone, his face felt weird while doing so, like his mouth was stretching up further than should be possible. He didn’t care though. He had to get out of here. First though…

He looked down at himself. His body – ‘form’ was probably a better word for it now – was different. He had no legs but a long tail instead. His arms were long, his hands rounded and strange. He sensed other changes, his face and neck, but without a mirror he couldn’t see them. So, he moved on.

He hesitated at the bottom of the stairs. Surely his new form would allow him to traverse along less mundane routes. … How though? … Eh, he’d figured it out later. Getting out and checking on the veracity of Venessa’s claims came first. He did however change course to exit the cellar through the back entrance, leading outside.

He didn’t have the key though so… he’d get to try out his new ghostliness some after all. It was surprisingly easy to slip through the crack between the doors, all he had to do was try. It felt like becoming one with the shadows.

Outside snow had piled up all around the manor. A _lot_ , more than even the deepest of winter should bring. And it was _still_ snowing. Something was wrong; very, very wrong.

He quickly moved on, unbothered by the cold even if he felt it a bit more out here. First, he went to the town. It was frozen over too. Blocks of ice that housed the bodies of residents littered the streets. Outside of town was more and more snow. Finally, he reached the forest. There was snow here too but not as bad, some of it looked to have blown in from the manor. And it wasn’t as cold so given time the now might clear out.

But… everyone was dead. Venessa had been telling the truth. She’d really killed everyone so it’d just be the two of them. … She was a crazy a bitch all right and Lukas _never_ wanted to see her again.

What did he do now though? What _could_ he do? He’d given up his body to an unknown _thing_ and was a shadow, a powerful ghost, according to Moonjumper. What could he _do_ with that power though? Could he destroy Venessa? She clearly had some powerful magic of her own too so _could_ he take her? Did he even _really_ want to try? … No, not really. If he ever saw her face again, even if it was a literal million years from now, it would be too soon. So, unless she came looking for him, he’d leave her to her frozen manor, to wonder its halls alone for the rest of her miserable life, that was a better form of revenge anyway.

What did that leave him with though? … Well, there were the numerous ghosts he’d come across in the frozen town, wondering around lost and confused. Maybe… he could do something for them? He could try anyway. If it worked, he could get them to work for him and together they could try to rebuild _something_ of meaning in the forest, away from the manor and its foul Queen. He’d always wanted to take on a position of leadership and ruling over a bunch of fellow ghosts didn’t sound too bad. This whole death thing might actually be kind of exciting.

**Author's Note:**

> So my headcanon for Moonjumper is that, overtime his possession of Lukas' body corrupts into the image we're all familiar with for him. Which is why, I wrote it the way I did. Other than that I know next to nothing about him, though I possibly want to write more fics with him in the future with this fic being the basis of his interactions with Snatcher. He's an interesting character, in large part I guess because there isn't much info on what he would've been if he'd made it to the final game, which leaves room for fanfics galore to do whatever they please with him.


End file.
